Russian Foreign Ministry today summoned British ambassador Anthony Brenton to protest over the British Council`s decision to keep two of its regional offices in St Petersburg and Yekaterinbut open in defiance of a closure order. ``The British ambassador was told that Russia considers such actions to be a deliberate provocation aimed at increasing tensions in Russian-British relations,`` the Ministry said in a statement. Russia had ordered the British Council to suspend its regional operations from January 1, over tax and legal status violations. On the picture : British Ambassador Anthony Brenton at the High School of Economic in Moscow